Abstract
Objective: The objectives of this study were to examine the patterns of diagnosis, management and outcomes of all patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) who came to our hospital. Methods: the diagnosis, management and outcome data of 79 consecutive patients with ruptured AAA between May 2002 and May 2011 were examined by reviewing their medical records. Result: The overall surgery rate for ruptured AAA was 61% and the survival rate was 48%. A total of 34 patients had received a diagnosis of ruptured aneurysm by the referring physician, while 45 did not have a diagnosis of ruptured aneurysm. Of these 45 patients, the AAA of 32 patients was diagnosed within 1 hour in our hospital, but a diagnosis of AAA in 3 patients took more than 6 hours. The patients who received a diagnosis within 1 hour had a low surgery rate (41%) and low survival rate (22%). All patients who did not receive a diagnosis within 6 hours died prior to surgery. Both groups were considered to have poor prognoses. Conclusion: The surgery and survival rates of ruptured AAA patients were very low. To further decrease the mortality rate, aneurysm must be detected before rupture and operated on electively. Sufficient education for emergency medical staff is also important to decrease the rate of the misdiagnosis of AAA rupture.
